What tips do you have for getting the most out of a cruise?

Question

I have never been on a cruise before and want to know what to pack, things you wish you knew before leaving, getting the most out of the time while off the ship, saving money. Be creative and thanks for your help.

Answer 1

The single most important thing to getting the most out of your cruise is to go with a positive attitude.  Perhaps this exchange of posts between myself and someone else on the same cruise as I explains it best.

From the other person ...

To Cruizer2.....I think that rather than a "review" your entry was more of a personal daily diary that was very, very long. I'm glad you had a good time, but perhaps your next "review" could be more about the ship/staff/food/etc. than your every movement.

To Katmash.....It was great meeting you all. Bingo and 3 card poker were very good to me and yes, we did enjoy Disney World and getting our new puppy.

To anyone who is interested.....The OCLadies have been true blue NCL lovers of several past voyages, but the Panama Canal cruise was by far the WORST cruise we've experienced on NCL. This statement was one which we heard time and time again, not just from those of us who are Latitudes members but those who were on their first NCL cruise but prior cruisers on other lines.

We understood that this would be a "maiden" voyage with a new international crew (we prefer them to any American crew), but was there no seasoned supervision on board to instruct the "new crew"? With the exception of our Cabin Stewards, who came from the Star, and the wait staff at Cagney's, the overall crew seemed not to function very well. This was especially true in the food/bar service areas. The main dining room could take over an hour to be seated, order and get your food. Waay too long!!! In the Buffet the food was mediocre at best, with very little menu changes from day to day. There was also no roving coffee/juice/drink service in the Buffet, and frequently they would run out of milk/juice and again the staff seemed not to notice or care.

And what about the entertainment? On prior NCL cruises there have been the large Vegas type shows. Not this time. Yes, there were comedians and for the most part they were pretty good. But what about those singers??? Okay, the guys that sang were fine but those "old lady" singers have to go!! Please!!! Screech & Scratch!

This NCL cruise was not up to par with past cruises on NCL and there were waay more complaints floating around the ship than compliments. So I'm interested in where those of you that say you had a great time were during the cruise.....cuase we surly didn't hear you.

My response ...

The way I write my review was in reaction to someone asking for more details. I did comment on the staff I met, and obviously I had a much more positive experience than you did. I also commented that I missed the production shows and I also commented that I thought the Cats Pajamas was good, but the other singers I listened to were not.

I have received a lot of positive reaction to my reviews, which have been the same style since my cruise on the NCL Star in October 2005. While I don't expect everyone to like my style, I don't intend to change it.

While you claim to be a true blue NCL cruiser, I am not (I prefer traditional over Freestyle and I am not happy with the shore based customer service at NCL) I would have to say that this cruise was either number one or two for me (the other one would be the Carnival Pride in May 2004). This was my ninth cruise.

I disagree with your comment about seasoned supervision. I had a chance to meet and mingle with the senior staff during the VIP reception and I found them to be very knowledgeable and customer focused (too bad I cannot say the same about the shore based staff).

To a large extent a cruise is what you make of it. Though we were on the same cruise, I did not hear the complaints you herd. Even though everything did not go perfectly for me, I kept a positive attitude. Even though I agree with much of your criticism, I did not allow those short comings to affect my cruise experience. As a result, I obviously enjoyed the cruise much more than you.

Finally, whatever short comings my review has (and I am sure there are many), it is still the only review available in the CC review section for this ship. I invite you to write your review and post it.

The next post after mine ...

Well said Cuizer2, I for one thoroughly enjoyed your in depth review and thought your photo's were great as well, I will be going on the Jade this July and your review gave me an insight into what the ship is like not having been on NCL before. This is only our third cruise the last one was on the Sea Princess but this time we are going with the family who have two boys 9 & 13 this is why we chose NCL Freestyle.

I also agree with you about the last poster ATTITUDE is the key word some people no matter what is done will be satisfied.

Best Regards Les.

My review, if you want to read it ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreview...

Answer 2

For me, I think the #1 thing is to get yourself oriented when you get on the ship.  There will be a tour on the first day, and it's worth going.  Also there will be a schedule of the day's activities in your room when you arrive (and each following morning).  It's worth going through - you don't have to do any of the activities, but I always like to know my options. =)

More generally, you might want to check out this "Know Before You Go" guide:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/kn...

It covers a lot more than I could cram into a Yahoo Answer, including a packing checklist, how to stay healthy, how to decide on a shore excursion, safety tips, etc.

The site in general is pretty handy, and has picture galleries of a lot of ships if you want to get a preview beforehand.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

I will try to make this simple, since we cruise a lot. First, go to the cruise's website. I know carnival will list all the activities they have on their ships, where things are located, what kinds of excursions they have in which areas, how much they cost, any extras you may want to purchase onboard and so forths. Read all about it first. Get an idea what you want to do and where you want to go. Also, depending on how long your cruise is, how many formal nights there are. Of course, if you are not into that, there are other options, but that will give you an idea of clothes to bring. There are all kinds of activities on the ship, so you can do as little or as much as you want. Remember though, this is your vacation, so even though you have read all there is to read and you think you have everything planned out, be prepared to change your mind once you get on ship and find something even better. Relax  and have a good time, that is the key.

Answer 4

first off going on a cruise topped the list of my favorite vacations. be ready to relax and enjoy it to the fullest. one imporant thing, i am a late sleeper. DO NOT do this on the cruise. i know you might be tired but find time to do that on certain days and not every day. you will miss all of the activites on board and even though they might not seem like something your into go and check them out anyways you will be suprised. also save your cups thats a big one because they will often refill them and save you some cash. the best part is not having a set time to eat everyday. eat as you please not with the schedule it makes things much more fun and you dont feel stuffed or way to full to function. lose track of time once and awhile on your out at sea days because trust me you just need to relax and realize you are in the middle of the ocean =] dont splurge too big on the souvineres on the ship, they are cute but a decent magnet or whatever your personal favorite is will do. when you get off the boat on an excursion or your own traveling of the island you will find souvineres GALORE and most will be a good amount less than the ship. also on some islands try bargaining with them. they are ready and willing to sell their stuff. ALSO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. if you take an excursion make sure to take the excursion with the cruise ship you are on because sometimes the excursions run late (true story) we were on an excursion in jamaica and it ran late so we finally found a bus to take us back to where the ship is and lucky enough us and another family just made it as there pulling the plank away. if we were not with carnivals excursion they have permission to leave without us and that would have been horrible! anyways have fun on your cruise & good luck. just remember relax and HAVE FUN =]

Answer 5

Well some cruise ships let you bring your own wine on board. On Carnival you can bring 1 bottle per person to keep in your state room. My husband and I did this and we saved quite a bit on drinks. Of course we still had some fancy drinks on the ship at the bars but it was nice to have the liquor in our room too. If your ship allows that I suggest you do it to save $$.

Oh another tip is at least for carnival cruises, they gave us huge beach towels in our room which we could use anywhere on the ship or bring out to the beaches at the port of call. If I would have known that ahead of time I wouldnt have packed our heavy bulky beach towels in our luggage. Would have saved a lot of room.

check on that too before you pack.

Answer 6

I went on a cruise last year for Spring Break. Since I was just a broke college student, I did things on the cheap. Here are some great activities that were free on the ship:

- alcohol tasting (as much as you wanted, all free!)

- dance lessons

- free admission into all bars (a couple of nights rounds of free drinks were given)

- mini golf

- captains dinner and dance

Things to stay away from:

- coffee ( usually this is not free and very expensive)

- spa (way too expensive)

- throwing your cup away (keep this in mind...if you save the plastic cups they serve your cocktails in you save a buck or two on every refill!)

- don't lose your towels while on a shore excursion - they will charge you

- be prepared to pay tips

- stay away from the casino.. no one every wins..well big atleast!

Things I wish I had known:

- Do not cram a lot of people into one room - It is just not worth it. Shell out the money for two rooms if needed. We had bunk beds and a roll-out bed and barely had room for our luggage.

-Pack light!  You will barely have room for your suit case in the room!

-Do bring a lot of lounging clothes. Think cover-ups and cotton shorts! The attire on board is casual except for dinners.

- Don't freak out about the "formal" night. Do bring a nice dress or slacks, but remember your there to have fun! Some people got dressed to the nines, while others just wore something less "beachy"

- Just because you can eat all the food you want for free does not mean you should! I had never tried lobster before the cruise and learned I am alergic to shell fish! Stick with what you know and what you like!

- A friend went to the sick room (she thought she had a little strep throat) and was bound to the boat the entire trip! Just think this through before you go see a doctor. You may feel a little sick, but you don't want to spend the entire trip stuck on the boat!

- Bring something for sea sickness, even if you think you may not get it.

With all that said, I had a wonderful time on my cruise. I met several people I still stay in contact with today. Enjoy!